Instinct
by The Visionary
Summary: A moment between Jak and Keira set after the third game. For so long Jak has known only war. now that peace has come, can he remember how to live the rest of his life? RR


**A.N.** Any of you who are familiar with my work will now I'm a huge advocate of the Jak/Keira pairing and after the 3rd game I was less than happy with the content of said couple. So I decided to write this as a neat little scene between one of my favorite couples set after the ending sequence of the game. I hope you all enjoy it, and don't forget to review and tell me what you think.

The Visionary

**Instinct**

He was Jak Marr, Hero of Earth, resplendent in victory wearing the armor of his ancestor, the ancient plates fitting over his muscular frame as though made for him as he held his rifle easily in his hands. He was a man who wielded power untold, who with a single blow could wipe out dozens, who with a thought could become an angel that glided among the clouds, a man who had just had the crown of Outcast City thrust into his hands. Most would have envied him his victory, and his power and yet it seemed that to him they were not a cause for celebration for he was a man thoughtful of his lot in life. In front of him hundreds of figures had gathered in spontaneous celebration of his victory, a round of free drinks at the Tavern setting off a chain reaction that now saw every Wastelander in the city toasting him as the sounds of celebration rose into the night sky. Drink flowing freely as the smell of roasting meat and fish rose from a dozen fires dotted around the courtyard.

Jak watched it with a small smile on his face as he leaned against the rough, white-washed wall of one of the buildings surrounding the square, Daxter and Tess long since retiring into privacy to leave him alone in his musings. Despite the smile he seemed oddly pensive as a band struck up, the rolling, high tempo music intermingling with the sounds of the celebration below, the fire-light dancing in his eyes as they narrowed. He kept his thoughts to himself however, refusing to share his thoughts with even the milky-green light of the Moon. But one person had seen him waiting in the shadows, refusing to partake of the celebration he had caused. She watched the play of his emotions as they crossed his features, remembering how adept she had become at reading his expressions when they had been their sole means of communication, it seemed like a life-time ago.

Above the celebration the sounds were muted by the night, his elven ears twitching for a moment as he picked her footsteps out of the background noise with practiced ease. He turned, sliding the rifle he'd held in his hands back into it's sheath as he took her in. Old feelings, feelings that had never truly disappeared stirred in him as he watched her, the moonlight giving her an ethereal beauty, aquamarine in her hair and eyes as her skin glowed a porcelain white, her soft features and figure given muted, delicate shadows by the light.

'Keira? Why aren't you down at the party?'

She gave him a small smile as she joined him on the ledge, a thin, cream jacket wrapped around her shoulders to keep off the chill of night. 'You weren't there.' She answered simply, her smile widening a little as he returned it.

He turned back to the scene below but let his gaze drift past them to the black expanse of ocean, the moon forming a glittering path across it. 'I… I was just thinking I guess.

She smiled again, 'Me too…' A silence settled over them as it so often had in Sandover but this one was not filled with the warm haze of companionship, Keira glancing at the few inches between them as though they were a yawning chasm. Three years ago the gap wouldn't have existed and they would have sat here in silence the whole night just sharing each other's company. But three years was too long, they both knew it, with all that had happened, it was far too long.

He took a deep breath and her eyes rose back to him, watching as he steadied his nerves before he spoke, his eyes rising to hers, 'What happened to us Keira?' That one question encompassed everything uncertain in their lives, there was just too much that they had let pass them by, too many things that had been left unsaid too long and had all banded together to form one insurmountable knot.

She spoke quietly, her eyes rising to take in the ocean again, 'I don't know… the baron I guess. Then all of this.' She gestured in the air and encompassed the entire war with that vague movement.

'It's over now though…' He spoke slowly, as though he tried to pick each word. 'So why can't we get it back?' She could hear the tension in his voice, hear the tears that no-one had seen since this whole thing had started.

Again Keira found herself unable to meet his eyes, 'I don't know.' Her words sounded hollow, useless. 'Things have changed… we're not the same people we were in Sandover. Two years without you… I gave up hope… I tried to make myself stop loving you just so that I'd stop missing you but I couldn't…' She stopped for a moment as and his hand closed over hers in a wordless gesture of comfort, her eyes rising to meet his again, her shared grief plain to one who had known him as long as she. She was surprised by how much strength she was able to draw from the simple contact as she felt her words pour out. 'Then when you came back you suddenly weren't you anymore and for a little while I managed to convince myself that I didn't love you and that I didn't need you. And now… now I don't know what I think anymore.' She couldn't believe that she'd spoken the words even as they hung in the air. She turned her gaze up to him again and he saw the tears sparkling there, 'But I want to find out who you are… I want to find out if me as I am can love you as you are… as much as we used to love who we were.'

Jak turned away from her slowly, pensive thought written on his face. 'Who I am? I…I don't really know anymore. When I'm fighting it's easy enough, there's an enemy, bang, there's not an enemy and I can get on with it… But it's all I've known really… it's been my life for… for over three years.' He spoke the words softly, as though the enormity of that time was just beginning to sink in. 'Now there's peace… and I don't know who I am in peace… I know I'm not who I used to be. But I've got nothing left to tell me who I am now.' He sounded bewildered, lost, so much of his confidence gone now that he was divested of the storm of combat.

'Jak…' She reached out slowly, fingers brushing across his hardened bicep but he turned away from her though, his back to her as he bowed his head.

'I… I'm sorry Keira… I want to… but I… I don't know what to do… I don't know if this is right.' Three years ago she would have let him stay like that, let everything inside her go unsaid, accepted what fate laid at her feet. But she had said it. They'd both changed, he was no longer simply a capable teenager, he was a man, a hardened warrior, and she was a woman who for two years had forced her way through a cruel and harsh city and come out on top. She let all of the determination it had taught her fill her as she took in a deep breath and squared her shoulders, this was going to end with a kiss if she had to throw him up against a wall.

Her hand closed around his arm, the hidden muscles that let her wield her tools with such proficiency evident as she pulled him back around to face her, stepping closer as she stared up at him, anger glittering in her eyes. 'Okay, stop this Jak! We may not have exactly had a lot of heart-to-hearts but I know that this angsty bullshit isn't you.' He blinked in surprise as she jammed a finger into his chest above his breastplate. 'For Mar's sake, you've never been unsure about a thing in your life, why the hell are you starting now? Why now, right when I don't need it from you?'

His mouth opened with a reply but he seemed robbed of speech as he stared down at her, 'Um…'

'Always, even when you were back in Sandover you never questioned what was right, ever. You just listened to your gut and got on with it. So stop trying to think this through and do something about it!' She stopped, her body shaking as her chest rose and fell with her deep breaths, her eyes locked on his as she practically dared him to try and turn away again.

His eyes narrowed after a moment as she saw his demeanor shift, the confidence that usually filled him returning as he stood over her. 'Okay.'

She rose an eyebrow, folding her arms in front of her, 'What?'

'Okay, no problem.' She stared at him in the flickering firelight for a moment, her face set in a determined scowl as she tried to find something in his face that would explain exactly what he meant. And then suddenly her mind was too busy with the fact that he was kissing her to think about anything else. She stiffened for a moment as he leaned over her, his arms moving swiftly but gently, his left rising to curl around her back as the other cupped her cheek and pulled her lips to meet his.

She relaxed into it an instant later, the kiss strong but gentle, his lips slowly massaging hers as she let her eyes drift shut. He felt her respond to the kiss as it deepened, her hands rising to curl around his neck, pulling him closer as he breathed in her heady scent, the thought crossed his mind, she tasted like strawberries. They pulled apart after neither knew how long, their arms still around each other as his heated breath stirred her hair.

He looked down at her for a long moment, the same determination that had been written on her features a moment ago now stamped on his. 'Happy?'

She blinked owlishly then let an impish smile cross her face, as she coyly let her gaze drop, licking her lips slowly, 'Very.'

His face softened as the hand on her cheek rose to push her hair back from her heart-shaped face, he smiled, 'Good, me too.' Another moment of silence stretched out between them and Jak let his gaze rise from her face, 'Keira… I… I still don't really know what I'm gonna do with myself. I mean, they want me to take… take my father's place but…' He trailed off before a gentle hand on his jaw guided him back down to her.

She looked up at him, her wide, green eyes endlessly captivating, 'What do you want to do?'

He let a half smile cross his face as he cupped her cheek, 'I want to kiss you again.'

She smiled, 'Well how about we do that and figure out the rest of it later.'

He grinned as he lowered his lips onto hers once more, 'Works for me.'

**A.N.** There you have it, I know it's short but it's something I felt I had to write. I might make it into a longer fic if the response to this is good enough so please, tell me what you think. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading it and that I captured the dynamics of their relationship right but as always, any constructive criticism is welcome.

Go With God

The Visionary


End file.
